Sunday 20th August 2017
Aynho Wharf to The Jolly Boatman just past Thrupp
14 miles, 8 locks
The plan for today was to travel about 7.5 miles and do 3 locks and then find a mooring in the middle of nowhere, however as you can see from the stats above, things did not go to plan!
The day started well - blue sky, dry, bright and sunny with wonderful far reaching views
Suddenly we were in sheep, rather than cow, country
The first lock of the day, Somerton Deep Lock, is in a delightful setting - at 12 foot it is the deepest narrow lock in the country, Tardebigge Top Lock is the second deepest.
The old lock cottage is well tended and obviously much loved. There is a cot visible in one window and play equipment in the garden - it must, however, be a very different sort of life as there is no road access
These are their only means of transport. It makes the idea of transporting furniture somewhat mind boggling!
Mind you would have to go a long way to find such a lovely view
As we went off down the cut we looked back and wondered if that had been a window and the look out point for the lock keeper?
At the next lock we met a canoeist using the lock as he has a lot of kit on board - he is doing a long distance paddle in aid of a cancer charity - sadly we did not get time to chat for long, so I am not sure where he started or will finish.
Monty and I took the tow path at times - no mad cyclists hurtling along here!
There was a boat ahead of us going down and others coming up, so a short delay at each lock, but the sun was shining and all was well with our world.
We were lucky at the only lift bridge - a boat was coming the other way and they held it open for us
How many hours could one spend watching the world go by or reading a good book in this
or on these?
Pearson's (a waterway guide book) had mentioned we would come across a tree house - sadly it has seen better days
Are these a couple?
Luck was still with us at Hayford Wharf - they had a Sunday Times!
Just under the bridge from the wharf - you'd better behave going past this well armed rabbit!
Our plan had been to stop soon after Dashwood lock, but it was not quite lunchtime, the sun was shining and as there had been plenty of armco to moor against we decided to carry on for a while. As we were to find out too late the last decent mooring after that lock is about a mile north of Pigeon Lock which is where the River Cherwell is so close you can stand in one place to take a photo of it
turn through 180 degrees and there is the boat going down in the lock
There are other moorings here and there, but they were all full.
So on we went through a wooded section
Past a very busy Jane's tea room - what we would not have given for a cuppa and a slice of cake!
Past the moorings at Enslow which were full and did not look that nice until we came to Baker's lock where the canal and River Cherwell become united.
The unmistakable sign that you are now on a river
Until you get to the next lock (Shipton Weir) just under a mile away when you re-join the Oxford Canal.
Shipton Weir is a very shallow lock at 2 foot 5 inches, but it takes a while to fill and empty due to its shape. Also the gate at this end is not the easiest to move with its cantilevered lock beam.
And that is where I lost the will to live and the photos stopped! From that lock it is less than a mile to Thrupp where there is loads of mooring, however, once again it was nose to tail boats all the way to the sanitary station which is just before the lift bridge. We emptied and filled as required, I opened the bridge and on we went and thankfully just a few hundred yards along the canal was a space by a pub called The Jolly Boatman. I am afraid my comment to Chris was 'he could be the grumpiest boatman in the world we were stopping anyway'!! We had been on the go for almost 9 hours - over twice what we normally do. Then just to add insult to injury when we went to the pub for (we thought) a well deserved drink, their tills had gone down, so they could not serve anything!! We waited for about 15 minutes, just glad to be in a comfy chair, to see if the computer guy could sort it, but it was not to be, so we gave up and returned to the boat for scrambled eggs on toast and bed!
We were following a boat that was going to go down the Oxford Canal as their destination was the city as that is where they live. We discussed the chances of getting a mooring which he said was probably going to be okay, but it is always busy. The decision we had to make at Duke's cut was whether to go straight on and follow them down the canal or turn right onto the Thames and moor up at Godstow Abbey which was our original plan. We took the latter course - this is Tentatrice turning onto Duke's Cut to pass through the lock leading to the Thames
With a very different winding mechanism for the paddles
At the end it is a right turn
onto the Thames
Who on earth added the 'd'?!!
We arrived at King's Lock at 13:00 - just as the lock keeper stopped for lunch. We could have gone through on self service, but we needed a licence and he had good moorings, so we decided to stop for our lunch and move on when he opened again at 14:00.
This is the last manually operated lock for a long while - the lock keeper has a very handy long pole to open and close the gates on the opposite side of the lock
Not the best picture, but that yellow sign is our first indication that maybe we have made the wrong choice - an 'event' at Godstow Abbey! It turned out to be filming, but no more details were forthcoming.
Just around the corner from that lock our day went from bad to worse. There are red buoys on the inside of the bend which Chris was going to pass so we went round the outside of the bend where water is normally deeper. Then coming towards us came a boat that took the inside of the bend. Being new to this water we assumed they were right and we were wrong, so we changed course. Oh what a big mistake - we were pushed over onto a mud bank and got completely and utterly stuck! I tried the pole, but it just sank in the mud. Chris tried going back and then forwards and then the bow thruster. We moved a bit, but seemed to be stuck amid ships. A narrowboat stopped and tried to pull us off to no avail, so they gave up and left. Another came along (nb Mariner from the Wey) and they too failed.
Our salvation and rescuers was this cruiser with a 60hp engine. They were marvellous and had us free in almost no time at all. We have no idea who they were, but we are very grateful. We had been stuck for around 30 minutes. It was all very embarrassing and rather frightening. I guess the moral is to stick to what you think is right and not assume that someone else knows better!
So here we are arriving at Godstow Abbey to find it a flurry of activity
with a sign we did not want to see!
This was the best view we got of the Abbey
before we had to keep on going and going....
First through Godstow Lock
to Osney Bridge where the lock keeper at Godstow had told us there were moorings past the bridge at East Street - they could not come soon enough for us
Sadly the only view of anything Oxford related we got was these people enjoying a punt as the moorings were full!
We had been travelling with nb Mariner since they tried to rescue us and they too were looking to stop - they are smaller than we are and tried for one space in East Street, but it was not quite big enough. We had agreed that when we got to the next moorings past Folly Bridge that if there was only one space we would breast up. They found a hole big enough for them and we went on knowing we could turn and breast up if need be. We did, however find somewhere - not ideal, but it was big enough and we could get on and off albeit with some difficulty.
It was a bit of a leap of faith for Monty, but he managed and the Oxford rowing club houses made for good neighbours.
14 miles, 8 locks
The plan for today was to travel about 7.5 miles and do 3 locks and then find a mooring in the middle of nowhere, however as you can see from the stats above, things did not go to plan!
The day started well - blue sky, dry, bright and sunny with wonderful far reaching views
Suddenly we were in sheep, rather than cow, country
The first lock of the day, Somerton Deep Lock, is in a delightful setting - at 12 foot it is the deepest narrow lock in the country, Tardebigge Top Lock is the second deepest.
The old lock cottage is well tended and obviously much loved. There is a cot visible in one window and play equipment in the garden - it must, however, be a very different sort of life as there is no road access
These are their only means of transport. It makes the idea of transporting furniture somewhat mind boggling!
Mind you would have to go a long way to find such a lovely view
At the next lock we met a canoeist using the lock as he has a lot of kit on board - he is doing a long distance paddle in aid of a cancer charity - sadly we did not get time to chat for long, so I am not sure where he started or will finish.
Monty and I took the tow path at times - no mad cyclists hurtling along here!
There was a boat ahead of us going down and others coming up, so a short delay at each lock, but the sun was shining and all was well with our world.
How many hours could one spend watching the world go by or reading a good book in this
Pearson's (a waterway guide book) had mentioned we would come across a tree house - sadly it has seen better days
Are these a couple?
Luck was still with us at Hayford Wharf - they had a Sunday Times!
Just under the bridge from the wharf - you'd better behave going past this well armed rabbit!
turn through 180 degrees and there is the boat going down in the lock
So on we went through a wooded section
Past a very busy Jane's tea room - what we would not have given for a cuppa and a slice of cake!
Past the moorings at Enslow which were full and did not look that nice until we came to Baker's lock where the canal and River Cherwell become united.
The unmistakable sign that you are now on a river
Shipton Weir is a very shallow lock at 2 foot 5 inches, but it takes a while to fill and empty due to its shape. Also the gate at this end is not the easiest to move with its cantilevered lock beam.
And that is where I lost the will to live and the photos stopped! From that lock it is less than a mile to Thrupp where there is loads of mooring, however, once again it was nose to tail boats all the way to the sanitary station which is just before the lift bridge. We emptied and filled as required, I opened the bridge and on we went and thankfully just a few hundred yards along the canal was a space by a pub called The Jolly Boatman. I am afraid my comment to Chris was 'he could be the grumpiest boatman in the world we were stopping anyway'!! We had been on the go for almost 9 hours - over twice what we normally do. Then just to add insult to injury when we went to the pub for (we thought) a well deserved drink, their tills had gone down, so they could not serve anything!! We waited for about 15 minutes, just glad to be in a comfy chair, to see if the computer guy could sort it, but it was not to be, so we gave up and returned to the boat for scrambled eggs on toast and bed!
Monday 21st August 2017
The Jolly Boatman to Folly Bridge Moorings on the River Thames
8.5 miles, 7 locks
Today's plan was to travel 5 miles and 5 locks to moor by Godstow Abbey, a journey that should have taken about 3 hours, but as you can see above that was not to be!
Once again the weather was dry and warm, but still overcast. After a couple of locks we came to the only lift bridge of the day and a new one on us. You have to unlock it from the small white post on the left of this picture and then push it up. It is not difficult, but was reluctant to stay up! A boat hook would have been handy, but we managed.
We were following a boat that was going to go down the Oxford Canal as their destination was the city as that is where they live. We discussed the chances of getting a mooring which he said was probably going to be okay, but it is always busy. The decision we had to make at Duke's cut was whether to go straight on and follow them down the canal or turn right onto the Thames and moor up at Godstow Abbey which was our original plan. We took the latter course - this is Tentatrice turning onto Duke's Cut to pass through the lock leading to the Thames
With a very different winding mechanism for the paddles
At the end it is a right turn
onto the Thames
We arrived at King's Lock at 13:00 - just as the lock keeper stopped for lunch. We could have gone through on self service, but we needed a licence and he had good moorings, so we decided to stop for our lunch and move on when he opened again at 14:00.
This is the last manually operated lock for a long while - the lock keeper has a very handy long pole to open and close the gates on the opposite side of the lock
Not the best picture, but that yellow sign is our first indication that maybe we have made the wrong choice - an 'event' at Godstow Abbey! It turned out to be filming, but no more details were forthcoming.
Just around the corner from that lock our day went from bad to worse. There are red buoys on the inside of the bend which Chris was going to pass so we went round the outside of the bend where water is normally deeper. Then coming towards us came a boat that took the inside of the bend. Being new to this water we assumed they were right and we were wrong, so we changed course. Oh what a big mistake - we were pushed over onto a mud bank and got completely and utterly stuck! I tried the pole, but it just sank in the mud. Chris tried going back and then forwards and then the bow thruster. We moved a bit, but seemed to be stuck amid ships. A narrowboat stopped and tried to pull us off to no avail, so they gave up and left. Another came along (nb Mariner from the Wey) and they too failed.
Our salvation and rescuers was this cruiser with a 60hp engine. They were marvellous and had us free in almost no time at all. We have no idea who they were, but we are very grateful. We had been stuck for around 30 minutes. It was all very embarrassing and rather frightening. I guess the moral is to stick to what you think is right and not assume that someone else knows better!
with a sign we did not want to see!
This was the best view we got of the Abbey
before we had to keep on going and going....
First through Godstow Lock
Sadly the only view of anything Oxford related we got was these people enjoying a punt as the moorings were full!
We had been travelling with nb Mariner since they tried to rescue us and they too were looking to stop - they are smaller than we are and tried for one space in East Street, but it was not quite big enough. We had agreed that when we got to the next moorings past Folly Bridge that if there was only one space we would breast up. They found a hole big enough for them and we went on knowing we could turn and breast up if need be. We did, however find somewhere - not ideal, but it was big enough and we could get on and off albeit with some difficulty.
It was a bit of a leap of faith for Monty, but he managed and the Oxford rowing club houses made for good neighbours.
It was passed 17:00 when we moored up having left at 09:30 and having an hour off for lunch - another very long day for us. We normally try to be moored up before lunch. A couple of days we will not forget for a while and we have to hope things get better!
2 comments:
We got hauled off by a cruiser once too, further downstream. Embarrassing isn't it? :)
Debby
Oh we are so glad we are not the only ones! Yes, it is massively embarrassing! Mind we will think much more kindly on cruisers in the future. I have to say the woman helmsman really knew what she was doing, so we do wonder if she comes this way quite often and this is a regular occurrence! Jennie
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